'God wanted me to be a priest'
'God wanted me to be a priest'NORTH WILKESBORO — Father John D. Hanic thought he wanted to be a deacon. That was until he applied more than a dozen times to diaconate programs and had a meeting with then-Bishop Michael Begley. Bishop Begley said he would not ordain him a deacon, but he would ordain him a priest.
This was a bit of a surprise to Father Hanic, who is originally from Monson, Mass.
He grew up in a loving family and married in 1967. He and his wife Judith divorced in 1972. They have two children who are now grown.
"I completed my academics with a double degree in theology and Church history at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.," Father Hanic explains.
He was ordained by Bishop Begley at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte on June 4, 1983.
Father Hanic's first assignment was at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Winston-Salem.
"I loved being with the families and visiting the school children," he recalls. "The Sisters of St. Joseph were a great support to me in my first years as a priest and have continued to be through the years."
He has served in a variety of parishes and missions, as well as serving seven years as campus minister at Holy Trinity Middle School in Charlotte.
He now serves as the pastor of St. John Baptist de la Salle Church in North Wilkesboro and St. Stephen Mission in Elkin.
"I've totally loved every assignment I've had, some as short as six months and some as long as 12 years," Father Hanic says.
"In the past 30 years, I never accepted an assignment knowing all that would be expected of me. I never left an assignment without a deep sense of gratitude for the blessing that assignment brought into my life."
Father Hanic believes that the greatest blessing, joy and privilege in his vocation as a priest is serving others and celebrating the sacraments with the people of God.
"I've learned over the past 30 years that God really, really likes us – a lot!"
He stresses that if someone were considering ministry in the Church, they should pray for openness, humility and courage.
"I never wanted to be a priest. God wanted me to be a priest. If you are being called to be a priest, then do just that – do what God wants you to do and you'll experience all the joy and peace that is possible," he says.
Father Hanic did something very special for his 30th anniversary to the priesthood.
"I wanted my 30th anniversary to be memorable, so I decided to celebrate Mass at the Tomb of St. Peter in Rome, surrounded by some of the people who have shared these 30 years with me."
When he returned from his trip to the Vatican, parishioners from St. Stephen Mission and St. John Baptist de la Salle Church also surprised him.
"They hosted marvelous, surprise parish celebrations for me, which just capped off this 30th anniversary for me."
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter